In the lonely hours
by this wild abyss
Summary: Dragons, after all mate for life.
**Disclaimer: nada, zilch, nothing.**

 **Repost, revamped, read away.**

* * *

Lisanna is certain of few things in life.

When she feels death's breath upon her neck, his cold hands gripping her, she knows she will die.

She looks at her sister and then upon death and smiles.

" _Mira don't feel guilty; tell Elfman it's not his fault. Tell Natsu…"_ She clutches the dragon fire forged ring attached to her corded necklace, _"tell Natsu I'm sorry, this time he won't find me."_

When a worm hole yawns open and swallows her up instead… well life throws all kind of obstacles one's way, adjustment is advisable.

She wakes up in environs startling familiar, yet achingly different, and thus she promptly faints.

When she awakens again, she's in a medical wing, surrounded by the familiar, yet _different_ faces of her brother and sister.

She feels dazed.

When they tell her where she is, how they thought she was dead, and how happy they are for her to be here.

She sighs shudderingly, and nods to herself. She has anchors, she can adapt.

There is no need for hysteria.

However, there is.

A monster grows within her chest, its name is familiar, but she dares not speak it.

 _Heartache._

* * *

Natsu is distraught.

There is a sense of vertigo that overwhelms him, bile rises in his throat, black clouds of oblivion dot his eye sight, but the pain in his chest knows no bounds. A fist squeezes at his heart lightly as of testing his resolve, and then clenches down remorselessly when it finds him wanting.

" _Lisanna is…dead."_

The words still do not resonate, but the phantom pain within his chest emotes otherwise.

Natsu remains perfectly still within the guild's threshold, before him Mirajane Strauss stands before him meek—her face shadowed by grief, her hands wringing in anxiety. Already death has dealt the great demon Mirajane a blow; she has become a shadow of herself.

Elfman… Elfman can't even look at him.

The guilt, the blame is laid at his feet.

After a moment even Natsu can't even stand the sight of _him_.

He feels a cry, nay a roar working up his throat demanding release. The familiar pull of his magic appears in an exhales of smoke from his mouth and nose. Fire Dragon's Roar demands release, its pull is unlike any other before, it demands destruction, it demands relief.

In the tense moment, where the silence is tangible upon the tongue, a rare moment has descended upon Fairy tail; Natsu dashes from the guild.

Mirajane moves to go after him, "Natsu…"

"Don't," Master Makarov's decisive voice cuts through, "Leave him to grieve on his own."

Mirajane nods in understanding.

"Gray, Levy... everyone," The Guild master commands their attention, "Be prepared to put out a forest fire."

Various responses of "Aye sir!" echo throughout the guild.

He leaves to avoid reducing half of Magnolia into ash and rubble.

He leaves because his grief is overwhelming, his eyes burn, and his lungs feel constricted.

He surges through the city, through the forest, ignoring the branches that catch and rip at his flesh and clothing. He sprints up the mountain and sets loose a roar the causes the earth to quake beneath his feet.

The destruction has just begun.

Trees old and mighty in their height fall prey to his wrath, the monsters inhabiting the forest flee, none dare stand up to the challenge, the battle he craves to sort out his surging emotions.

Eventually he falls to his knees, bone weary.

He closes his eyes, and heaves a shuddering breathe.

Natsu begins to work through the stages of grief, he flickers between denial and bargaining. His mind races with countless thoughts. His train of thought wavers between self-blame, and accusation; _'Mirajane was teaching Lisanna to control her new powers. Tenshi-soul should have at least saved her. Why didn't should she use her magic? I should have been there. I should have ignored Lisanna's protests and gone on that fucking mission. She'd still be alive! If her sister hadn't been enough to stop her rampaging brother… I should have been there…."_

The anger resurfaces, bubbling over the surface. Natsu stands and roughly removes the leather cord from his neck. His right arm raises with potential energy, ready to release and throw what's encased in hand, far away from him and his grief.

But he cannot bring himself to let go.

His fist clenches, white knuckled, nails pricking the flesh, sharp enough to bleed. Natsu opens his right hand and brings the necklace before his eyes.

The dragon fire forge ring burns brightly.

The fire that's attached to _her_ life force.

For a moment he stares at the ring with wide eyed disbelief.

Then he grins, hope is renewed.

He doesn't care what the others believe, somewhere out their Lisanna _lives_. He will find her, no matter where he has to go, how long it takes or how far he has to travel.

Dragons, after all mate for life.

* * *

Lisanna is adaptable.

She falls into a routine of working in a world without residual magic, but depends heavily upon lacrima for their needs. She works in a familiar guild as a bar maid, she laughs and bonds with familiar guild mates. She wears the clothes, and steps into the shoes of a dead girl… her counterpart. She brings happiness to a set of siblings that know the grief she must be putting her own through.

This existence is not ideal, but she does not delude herself with any other.

She smiles, she lives, and she breathes.

She clutches the fire forge ring in her palm and begs for strength.

* * *

Lisanna is practical.

It is a trait she and her siblings gained upon their parent's death.

Her sister discovered her take-over abilities, and so they sought out a guild.

Lisanna and Elfman did not want Mirajane to feel ostracized for her magic, so they attained the same abilities.

If there is one thing Lisanna has learned is that family is important.

When she meets Natsu, this fact does not change. In fact it simply reinforces that fact. Raising an egg with him and hatching a flying cat named Happy has an impact on her. She may have said in jest that she would marry Natsu Dragneel, but there is always an iota of truth in jokes. She knew for certain that one day she will marry him, and her family will expand.

She just did not expect it to happen without him present.

The new reality Lisanna has built up for herself, has shattered.

* * *

She's three months into her new life on Edolas, when she finds out curious news.

There had been telltale signs: vomiting in the mornings—she does not drink, nausea—she does not get sick that often, fatigue—sometimes she slept well beyond her internal clock, and a very definite the lack of menstruation.

So she did the sensible thing, brought a pregnancy test or five.

After the test glows pink, Lisanna finds herself perched upon the lavatory seat, looking into the distance with a thousand yard stare.

The hysteria begins to bubble up from the below the surface… it's a delayed reaction.

She finally allows herself to realize that this place, Edolas is not her home.

She is a stranger in an even stranger land.

These oh so familiar guild mates are not hers, some of these faces she has never encountered from her own home.

This Mirajane and Elfman are not her siblings.

This Natsu is not _her_ Natsu.

Natsu Dragion is _nothing_ like Natsu Dragneel.

He is a stranger wearing the face of her best friend.

Lisanna finally proceeds to wail, to weep, to mourn. For a family lost, for a love lost, for a future that promised to be brilliant, but is unfortunately lost.

It all seems quite hopeless.

An eternity seems to pass before her sobs dissolve into whimpers and she finally quietens. Her resolve becomes decided once she stops crying. Weeping never solved any problems, but it's a great stress relief.

The baby will be kept.

 _Her_ baby will be kept.

 _She_ and _Natsu's_ baby will be kept.

The only solace she has of home.

That thought alone gives her so much strength, she feels a wave of protection surface within her for the unborn child within her.

But she cannot stay with Fairy tail.

She has never shown marked interest in the Natsu of this world, beyond friendly pleasantries. There's a chance her babe will have pink hair, and by the Gods she'll be damned if she draws attention to herself and her child.

Most of all she doesn't want to be around when the guild becomes aware of the fact that she is not _their_ Lisanna.

Lisanna gets up, looks in the mirror. Her face is blotchy, her eyes red, her nose is running. She looks a mess; she hastily proceeds to clean herself up.

When she finally leaves the restroom, she comes to the decision to talk to Mirajane. She'll need help, and more than anything she needs her sister to confide in. This Mirajane may not be the one that raised her, but she's the one who welcomed her in, in her time of need.

Lisanna will tell her the truth, and hope for the best.

* * *

Natsu is certain of very few things in life.

When new flyers are put upon the mission board, he shall tackle them with all his determination. More times than not he takes on missions that will last him at least a month or two.

He takes these missions and completes them with zeal. And upon these missions he searches.

When he hears tales, hints, or even suspicions of dragons, he comes running, burning with fiery purpose.

He searches for his father Igneel, and in his father's shadow he searches for Lisanna.

When opportunities arise to become stronger, Natsu takes them. He demands spars with the strongest members of the guild; he trains with ridiculous vigor.

He will protect his Nakama, he will protect Fairy tail.

He will not lose anyone again.

Once in a while on the way back from a mission he'll stop by the field of flowers, before a house made of straw and remembers.

He'll grasps the ring on the leather cord hidden beneath his scarf and feels the warmth of the fire.

It helps give him hope.

* * *

An evolution of a relationship:

Love is not inevitable, Lisanna does not believe in coincidence nor fate.

But perhaps in this case it was.

Their bond is a gradual evolution. Friendship that begins in childhood and blossoms and blooms with constant companionship on days of loss, laughter and moments of great joy:

Strange glances that result in blushes.

Hands held and rapidly pulled apart.

An accidental kiss in the midst of laughter.

A purposeful kiss in the midst of fierce flushes.

A promise of more, ambiguous but oh so very certain in its implications.

And finally a pair of rings forged in dragon fire, sealing a bond.

Her world does not necessarily revolve around Natsu, rather he is a star in her orbit. A star amongst many, but outshines the lot of them brilliantly.

No one could make Natsu blush quite like her. While he knows he can be quite oblivious, his perceptive moments are frightening. Natsu knows exactly what he feels for his friend. When she's around he's keen senses sharpen to the nth degree. His instincts hone in on her, and the feral side of him growls _Mine._

Natsu has the greatest heart, his loyalty is a lifetime reward. His friendship is easily won, but once lost it is … well it must have been a grievous betrayal. His love means to stand before the sun, and risk blindness, knowing one has seen beauty.

Love blossoms and blooms, thus becoming inevitable.

They marry young. The event is not planned, it's a spontaneous gesture on Natsu's part. When he's around, Lisanna feels fearless, he puts silence to all of her doubts. It happens while they wander a town in the aftermath of a mission. Here Natsu presents her with their dragon fire forged rings.

His person was atypically solemn as he swore dragons mated for life, and that the flames of their rings would become attuned to their life force. Even when apart they would have one another's presence with the other.

The thought he had put into this alone made Lisanna a blubbering mess.

When they returned to the guild they are met with varying reactions. Many resulting in threats made on both of their persons, if the other should be hurt.

The future afterwards seems bright.

* * *

Motherhood is difficult.

She knew it would be, but the reality of it is an entirely different beast.

She married young, but did not expect to have a family for at least a few years.

But her babe is the only thing she has of her family, so she grasps onto the ideal fervently.

(The pregnancy is difficult, the birth is difficult, but the end result is worth it.)

Surprisingly the gestation period does not last nine months, but five. Lisanna comes to attribute that fact to Natsu and the dragon slayer powers that must have altered his genetics. She won't look a gift horse in the mouth, during it she craves raw meat and a plethora of other food cravings that receive strange looks from people when she's grocery shopping or eating in a restaurant. She gets the regular pregnancy symptoms just at a fast rate, and her stomach blows up to the point that fawning women asks if she's having twins.

Such reactions leave her cross, she's not that big.

She visits her doctor, has occasional visits from Mirajane, but mostly keeps to herself.

It's a very lonely existence, and more often than not she cries and wishes for her family.

Lisanna does not regret leaving Fairy Tail and relocating to Traia city, but during the lonely hours she questions her sanity.

When the birth is upon her, the contraptions are horrendous and she anticipates a hellish journey ahead of her. And her prediction is correct. She labors for a grand twenty-eight hours before the babe decides to deign the world with it's presence. The cry that rends the air makes Lisanna wilt in relief.

A baby boy is presented to her.

His face is cherubic and red from wailing. He has a mighty set of lungs on him. A surprisingly full head of white hair covers his head, however, his roots, are pink. As he settles into her arms, his sobs becomes sniffling; he peers at his mother for the first time. His eyes are gray and she expects them to eventually settle into his father's ebony.

His weight is what causes her to choke, a whopping 5.4 kilograms, and sixty centimeters long.

Well that explains the twin assumptions.

Lisanna traces his features with her finger tips, and feels her eyes water with tears.

"Hi little one, I'm your mama. It's nice to finally meet you, I've waited a while to see your face."

He coos and blinks owishly up at her.

She did not think it was possible to love someone this much.

She only wishes Natsu was here.

For his legacy she names her son Ryussei Dragneel.

Life goes on.

She learns the secrets of motherhood.

Days are long, but nights are longer. Ryu does not yet comprehend the difference between night and day.

(Lisanna looks back on those early days and wants to give herself a hug, but those days pale in comparison when she looks upon her smiling infant as he giggles in the soapy water of his baby tub.)

Each stage of Ryu's life is recorded, Lisanna hopes against hope that one day she will see her family, and these photos will be shared amongst them. And though she has Mirajane, it's simply not the same.

This hobby of photography soon becomes a source of income. Her pictures of her son are admired, and soon she becomes a popular child photographer.

Ryu is a bright baby; as time passes by his hair becomes pink, and his personality shows his father's curiousness, but his mother's cautiousness. And though he takes after his father in looks, he is Lisanna's son in personality, unless excited... and then, then he becomes a hellion. That's completely Natsu right there.

The day she travels to Royal city is when life takes another watershed.

She's recently moved to the capital, exploring vaster avenues for her business as a photographer.

She carrying her travel bag full her photographer samples and baby supplies. Ryu is perched upon her back, situated in his baby carrier, asleep.

The day's going well, she's booked several appointments and she's off to a small café that's steadily becoming her favorite.

That's when all hell breaks loose.

Amidst the chaos, Lisanna's panicking and attempting to find a place of safety for her and her toddler. However, like most of the crowd she becomes enraptured by the sight of a man adorned with horns and wearing a cape, cackling madly as he declares the he, Lord Dragneel is stealing all of Edolas' magic.

She laughs.

 _Natsu, you utter drama queen_ , Lisanna thinks fondly.

And Lisanna knows that everything will be fine.

* * *

There is great uproar.

Well madness, but one can't expect anything less when it comes to Fairy tial.

The return from Edolas to Earthland brings great happiness, the return of Magnolia and its citizens brings a sense of justice, encountering the Exceeds brings a sense of resolution.

Gajeel's rather… er, emotional reunion with his cat... well, it is what it is.

However, in the aftermath of the insurgence from Edolas another event takes place:

In the gloom of rain. The gray of clouds are momentarily eclipsed by blinding white light. The light begins to fade revealing it to be a runic circle indicting the use of magic. Large wings appear, leaving feathers in their wake. However, it's the person attached to the wings that captures their attention as she begins to land across the clearing from them.

For a moment Natsu is breathless.

He stares and does not quite believe what he is seeing.

Around him his comrades are similarly beguiled.

"It can't be?" Gray breathes.

"Who the hell is that?" Comes Gajeel's crash response.

Erza queries, "Could it be Edolas'—"

Happy silences all doubts, and utters her name first, "LISANNA!"

Natsu still stares as she stands from the squat she landed, the wings of Tenshi Soul—her takeover magic—dissipating around her, leaving clouds of glitter in their wake.

And then… and then she smiles.

Natsu doesn't realize he's gaping until Lucy touches his arm and takes his hand.

"Natsu, are you okay?"

He looks down at her concerned expression and smiles—a smile that breaks the clouds and lures in the sun—Lucy's breathe catches.

"I'm fine," Natsu laughs, suddenly jubilant, "I'm great Luce, just great."

He grips her hand in reassurance and then let's go. He takes off at a full leap, closing the distance between himself and Lisanna.

Lucy watches his retreating back, and says quietly, "So that's Lisanna, Mirajane's and Elfman's sister?"

"Yes and Natsu's wife," Erza says, and watches Lucy steadily. If she expects Lucy to have any emotional response to that statement than she has another thing coming. Lucy simply smiles, she's much more resilient than that, "I'm glad they'll all be reunited."

He runs up to her, and he drinks in her appearance: from her white hair which has grown long, her blue eyes that have always captured him, down the curves of the body he was once familiar with, and once more back to her startled eyes.

Lisanna eyes have widened at his sudden appearance before her, but she is genuinely happy. Tears begin to cloud her sight and softly she says, "Natsu…"

Natsu closes his eyes, and simply revels in the sound of her voice. Two years has seemed like an eternity. Natsu decides there shall be no more time wasted. He closes the distance between them and kisses her.

It's messy, has zero finesse, but its sweet and kind of hot.

It leaves Lisanna blushing and Natsu red faced as he pulls away. He places his forehead against hers, she grasps their hands together. He murmurs, "I found you," and tears spring to her eyes.

Their intimate embrace leaves their companions feeling awkward. And once the initial shock wears off, they decide it's best to abscond.

Gray coughs and remarks, "Okay, I think that's our cue to go."

Pantherlily nods in agreement, "Wiser words have never been spoken."

They take it upon themselves to exit the premise; they'll be a more public reunion at the guild later.

They remain unaware of the departure of the peanut gallery.

It is in the midst of kisses, that a cry rends the air. The typical fussing of a toddler that has awaken from a nap, Lisanna is blatantly reminded of Ryu perched upon her back. Of course he would sleep through all that madness; that she knows is all Natsu.

She pulls away from Natsu, handing him her messenger bag.

Natsu holds it absently and looks over her shoulder curiously, remarking, "Who's the midget?"

Lisanna simply laughs as she expertly maneuvers the baby carrier from her back to her front, and proceeds to remove said midget from it. "This," she introduces, holding up said toddler for Natsu to see, "is Ryussei. Ryu say hi!"

The babe in question simply rubs at his eyes, and sucks on his soother. Lisanna gestures for Natsu to open the baby bag, and with Ryu in one arm, she uses her other to retrieve a sippy cup, a banana and baby cookies.

"He looks like me," Natsu states, staring at the boy intently. "Really like me."

Lisanna laughs again, "That he does."

She places the boy on his feet, takes his soother, and gives him his sippy cup. The boy shakes his head at the cup and points to the banana and cookies. She hands him the opened bag of baby cookies, Ryu watches her open the banana intently and opens his mouth readily when she places the piece of soft fruit there. He then proceeds to shove a handful of cookies into his mouth, cheeks huge as he chews happily.

Natsu watches this intently and comes to a startlingly conclusion. "Wow he even has my appetite," He states, almost in awe. He comes to stoop before the boy and asks him, "Can I have some?"

Ryu stares at him suspiciously and then looks down at his cookies, and back at him again. He nods, and hands Natsu two of them.

Lisanna laughs once more, "He must really like you to share his cookies."

Natsu has not teared his eyes from the toddler, and so when he looks back up he's astonished to see her eyes filled with tears, but her smile belays her true mood as happy.

"How old is he, Lisanna?"

She wipes at her tears, and hands Ryu another piece of banana. She answers, "About fifteen months, he'll be sixteen months in two weeks."

Natsu quiet for a moment, and watches as Ryu hands Lisanna his bag of cookies, and begins to root through the messenger. He comes away with a happy cry as he finds a juice pouch, Ryu looks to both his mother and Natsu, and decides to give it to Natsu to open.

Natsu does so and hands the juice pouch to Ryu, the boy takes it and then holds his arms up to Natsu, in the universal sign for babes to be picked up.

Natsu looks to Lisanna uncertainly, as if asking permission.

She shakes her head in the positive, stating, "He's your son too, you don't have to ask."

Natsu picks him up with trembling limbs, Ryu grins at him, which prompts him to smile back. He seems to memorize their son's features for a moment more, and then turns to Lisanna with an expression she had not seen since he first declared he loved her.

"You're amazing, you know that Lisanna."

Lisanna blushes.

All seems right in the world.


End file.
